Old is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist Danny Brown. The album was released in 2013 under Fool's Gold Records.

The album includes production from American, British and Canadian record producers such as A-Trak, BadBadNotGood, Frank Dukes, Oh No, Paul White, Rustie and SKYWLKR, among others. The album also features guest appearances from fellow artists such as Freddie Gibbs, ASAP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Scrufizzer, Charli XCX and Purity Ring.

The album was supported by three singles, "Dip", "25 Bucks" and "Smokin & Drinkin". Old received widespread acclaim from critics. - Wiki

On the Deluxe box set:

“Fans have been clamoring to hold Danny Brown's Old album on wax since the acclaimed album was first released. Bruisers, your day has come! Danny's modern-day rap masterpiece is now available in a deluxe 4xLP vinyl box set featuring the full album - and exclusive instrumentals! - pressed on heavy duty 180 gram wax, full lyric booklet and liner notes, mp3 download card and a 24" fold-out poster, all housed in a high-quality collectors box.” – Fool’s Gold Records

“Danny Brown's XXX was a concept album about desperation and Old is a concept album about existential confusion. Growing up might not be as dramatic a subject as burning out, but it's more relatable to most of us, and it's no accident that it resulted in the best and most resonant album of the rapper's career.” - Pitchfork

Ella's collaboration with Nelson Riddle that is highly regarded as the pinnacle of her legendary Song Book series, will be released as a limited edition 6LP vinyl box set. A replica of the rare 5LP set originally released in 1959, the Ella 100 edition recreates for the first time since its initial release the original stereo box set on vinyl, the originally included five lithographs by French impressionist painter Bernard Buffet, as well as the hardcover book, Words And Music, which for this set has been updated with additional historical information and an afterword by noted author David Ritz.

The 2017 collection was newly mastered by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios in Hollywood where the album was originally recorded in 1959 under the supervision of Verve Records founder Norman Granz. A sixth LP enlarges the original 10-inch instrumental EP with orchestra tracks on Side One and additional material from the sessions on Side Two. One of the bonus tracks, a mono alternate take of "Oh! Lady Be Good!" is on vinyl for the first time. – Press Release

“The Verve album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book was a lavish five-album set, arranged by Nelson Riddle, that became the crowning achievement of the singer’s series of albums celebrating the composers and lyricists who gave us the Great American Songbook.” – Gershwin

“A monumental achievement that finds Fitzgerald and Nelson Riddle, the greatest arranger of the era, tackling nearly the entire catalog of arguably America's premier songwriting team, George and Ira Gershwin. Ira's oft-repeated line serves as the best endorsement for these recordings: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them."” – All About Jazz

Playing on the theme of redacted government documents and expanding it into a full, clothbound binder with the entirety of the Magna Carta Holy Grail album spread across eight 7” 45rpm records, this piece conceived by Grammy-nominated designer Brian Roettinger is cryptographically breathtaking. It is limited to 1000 numbered sets and released in conjunction with Roc Nation.

Watch the trailer for the product below:

”Magna Carta Holy Grail is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Jay Z, released in 2013. The album features guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Nas, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé. Most of the album was produced by Timbaland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, while other producers included Boi-1da, Mike Will Made It, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean, No I.D., The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, and Pharrell Williams among others.

The album was named in multiple "Albums of the Year" lists by major publications. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards and for Best Rap Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Complex ranked the album at number 23, on their list of the 50 best albums of 2013. They praised the "high-gloss production," and strong rhymes by Jay-Z, deeming it "very listenable". Rolling Stone named it the tenth best hip hop album of the 2013 saying, "The legendary MC explored of-the-moment sounds, textures and tempos in ways only he could [...] Even on a bit of an off day, Jay is still plenty impressive."” - Wiki

This Record Store Day release offers acid-jazz groovers, jazz-funk movers, and spaced-out cosmic explorers the Jazz Dispensary: Cosmic Stash. Opening the door to a heightened musical experience, this album features some of the most iconic and hard-to-find drum breaks, legendary samples, and a who’s who of players and producers including: Bernard Purdie, Isaac Hayes, David Axelrod, the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, the Blackbyrds, Pharoah Sanders, and more.

Comprised of four distinct musical strains—“Soul Diesel,” “Purple Funk,” “OG Kush,” and “Astral Travelin’”—there’s a trip for every mood. Housed in a special four way fold-out box, each LP comes in its own unique jacket, combining texture and visuals for a truly extrasensory experience.

Pressed on translucent-colored vinyl with custom “prescription” labels, each record is designed to reflect the intended effects of the music: orange, purple, green, and clear. Just what the doctor ordered. Get trippin' people. Released on Record Store Day it will remain exclusive to indie stores for one year. After that, all bets are off. - Record Store Day

Today it is difficult to understand that despite the tremendous Bach renaissance that took place in the 19th century many compositions by the Cantor of St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig had been underrated. The Cello Suites, for example, have been regarded for almost 300 years as purely a set of tricky etudes that every virtuoso in the making simply must tackle. What recording engineers and their equipment can bring to the ears is quite astounding. So it was back in the Thirties with Pablo Casal’s legendary recording against which every cellist is measured today and to whose perfection he aspires.

Janos Starker’s recording of the Suites from 1965 makes a lasting impression on the listener, even when compared with other recordings from the digital era, and even record producers who are well used to recorded excellence have been highly impressed. For Charlotte Gilbert of the Mercury record label, these recording sessions were one of five truly great events in all her 20 years of recording experience. Without a doubt, Starker allows his instrument to resound freely but without forcing the tone. Starker’s full-bodied sound and technical brilliance are complemented by his finely chiselled interpretation that lends immense expression to Bach’s thrilling harmony and verve to the strict rhythmic construction of the movements. Just listen to his organ-like double-stopped passages, the eloquent dialogues, and the pure excitement created by his highly individual treatment of tempo. Then you will surely agree with the often-quoted paradox that Bach’s Cello Suites are ‘polyphony for a solo instrument’. – Speakers Corner Records http://www.speakerscornerrecords.com/products/details/39016/bach-6-solo-cello-suites

“Like all great Bach-players Starker effortlessly conveys an underlying sense of timeless logic and, to use a word that seems to have gone out of fashion: spirituality. As you would expect and hope for, each of Starker’s complete recordings of the Suites has differing points of emphasis, but this Speakers Corner/Mercury set is one of the few that deserves, and stands, comparison with Pablo Casals.” – Classical Source http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_features.php?id=9566

John Coltrane ‎– The Atlantic Years: In Mono boxset includes mono versions of the following albums:

Giant Steps

Bags & Trane (with Milt Jackson)

Ole Coltrane

Coltrane Plays The Blues

The Avant Garde (with Don Cherry)

“While John Coltrane first gained attention for his revolutionary "sheets of sound" technique, it was the deep spirituality of his music that really made his recordings as a bandleader such classics. The al-bums he recorded for Atlantic in 1959 and 1960 represent the heart of his legacy.

For the first time since their original release, this box set gathers Coltrane's mono recordings from the Atlantic vaults to be released as a 6LP set with a 7" vinyl single.

“The primary reason to investigate this box is to hear the recordings in their original mono produc-tion, an aspect that some listeners will prefer, some will dislike, and yet others won't care about either way. Nonetheless, there is an audible contrast between the way the mono versions sound and the way the later, and perhaps more readily accepted, stereo versions sound. Gone is the attempt to separate the musicians and place them in different speakers. Instead, we get a cohesive, single-microphone ef-fect that some think better represents the way albums were recorded in the '60s.

At the very least, this is how most people first heard these albums and it's fascinating to compare them to their stereo versions. Indeed, rather than imparting stereo's effect of feeling as if you are sit-ting at Coltrane's feet in the studio (admittedly a cool thing), the mono versions offer their own earthy, natural, in-room sound that is perhaps warmer and more compact, allowing you to get a better handle on the overall group's cohesiveness. It's a sound that works especially well on Coltrane's iconic ballad "Naima," where his plaintive saxophone moan, framed by pianist Wynton Kelly's delicate harmonic bed, is softer, more immediate, and perhaps even more poignant-sounding than on the stereo version. Ultimately, given the important nature of Coltrane's recordings and the historic accuracy achieved here, The Atlantic Years: In Mono is a more than welcome addition to Coltrane's archive.” – AllMusic

About John Coltrane:

Merely mention the name John Coltrane and you’re likely to evoke a deeply emotional, often spiritual response from even the most casual jazz fan.

Born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, John Coltrane was always surrounded by music. His father played several instruments sparking Coltrane’s study of E-flat horn and clarinet. While in high school, Coltrane’s musical influences shifted to the likes of Lester Young and Johnny Hodges prompting him to switch to alto saxophone. He continued his musical training in Philadelphia at Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. He was called to military service during WWII, where he performed in the U.S. Navy Band in Hawaii.

After the war, Coltrane began playing tenor saxophone with the Eddie "CleanHead" Vinson Band, and was later quoted as saying, "A wider area of listening opened up for me. There were many things that people like Hawk, and Ben and Tab Smith were doing in the ‘40’s that I didn’t understand, but that I felt emotionally." Prior to joining the Dizzy Gillespie band, Coltrane performed with Jimmy Heath where his passion for experimentation began to take shape. However, it was his work with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1958 that would lead to his own musical evolution. " Miles music gave me plenty of freedom," he once said. During that period, he became known for using the three-on-one chord approach, and what has been called the ‘sheets of sound,’ a method of playing multiple notes at one time.

By 1960 Coltrane had formed his own quartet which included pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. Eventually adding players like Eric Dolphy, and Pharoah Sanders. The John Coltrane Quartet created some of the most innovative and expressive music in Jazz history including the hit albums: "My Favorite Things," "Africa Brass," " Impressions," " Giant Steps," and his monumental work "A Love Supreme" which attests to the power, glory, love, and greatness of God. Coltrane felt we must all make a conscious effort to effect positive change in the world, and that his music was an instrument to create positive thought patterns in the minds of people.

In 1967, liver disease took Coltrane’s life leaving many to wonder what might have been. Yet decades after his departure his music can be heard in motion pictures, on television and radio. Recent film projects that have made references to Coltrane’s artistry in dialogue or musical compositions include, "Mr. Holland’s Opus", "The General’s Daughter", "Malcolm X", "Mo Better Blues", "Jerry McGuire", "White Night", "The Last Graduation", "Come Unto Thee", "Eyes On The Prize II" and "Four Little Girls". Also, popular television series such as "NYPD Blue", "The Cosby Show", "Day’s Of Our Lives", "Crime Stories" and "ER", have also relied on the beautiful melodies of this distinguished saxophonist.

In 1972, "A Love Supreme" was certified gold by the RIAA for exceeding 500,000 units in Japan. This jazz classic and the classic album "My Favorite Things" were certified gold in the United States in 2001.

In 1982, the RIAA posthumously awarded John Coltrane a Grammy Award of " Best Jazz Solo Performance" for the work on his album, "Bye Bye Blackbird". In 1997 he received the organizations highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

On June 18, 1993 Mrs. Alice Coltrane received an invitation to The White House from former President and Mrs. Clinton, in appreciation of John Coltrane’s historical appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival.

In 1995, John Coltrane was honored by the United States Postal Service with a commemorative postage stamp. Issued as part of the musicians and composers series, this collectors item remains in circulation.

In 1999, Universal Studios and its recording division MCA Records recognized John Coltrane’s influence on cinema by naming a street on the Universal Studios lot in his honor.

In 2001, The NEA and the RIAA released 360 songs of the Century . Among them was John Coltrane’s "My Favorite Things."

In 2007, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded a posthumous Special Citation to legendary jazz composer John Coltrane for his lifetime of innovated and influential work. The citation lauds Coltrane for “his masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz.” The committee said of Coltrane: “His exalted stature arises from his composition and recordings. In ‘A Love Supreme,’ he produced an imposing composition expressing faith. In ‘Africa/Brass Selections,’ he achieved astonishing orchestral feats. His work has weight, an artistic quest and searching nature. Coltrane infused the existing tradition with innovation and radical approaches. The surface of his music is dynamic and palpable, the underlying structure is suffused with spirituality and provocative political content.”

A TAV Essential Listening Album – Often referred to as the definitive jazz album. While Miles possibly sought to break ground for modal jazz in the jazz genre, he ended up breaking ground for jazz in the entire musical canon with this album. Another hallmark of this album was that accompanying Miles were other jazz legends - Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly on piano, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley on saxophone, along with Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.

"Long held as the jazz album that even non-jazz fans will own, Kind Of Blue not only changed the way people regarded Miles, it changed the very face of music itself. Consistently rated not just as one of the greatest jazz albums but as one of THE greatest musical statements of the 20th century, its 46 minutes of improvisation and sophistication remain peerless." - BBC

"Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album. To be reductive, it's the Citizen Kane of jazz -- an accepted work of greatness that's innovative and entertaining. That may not mean it's the greatest jazz album ever made, but it certainly is a universally acknowledged standard of excellence." – AllMusic

"How does one properly introduce an epochal record? Perhaps by unequivocally stating that it is the best-selling jazz album in history. Or by affirming that, every year, it sells tens of thousands of copies more than five decades after its original release. There's also the matter of its status as the most-referenced, and arguably, most important, jazz recording of all-time. And the Dream Team lineup of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Yes, Kind of Blue is utterly inimitable.

Part of Mobile Fidelity's Miles Davis catalog restoration series, the landmark has been given the ultimate white-gloves treatment. Mastered from the original master tapes, and pressed on 45RPM LPs at RTI, this sumptuous box set of the often-reissued album is a must for even fans that already possess multiple versions. Such is the illuminating transparency, reference dynamics, organic warmth, and instrumental detail exposed by the thoroughly scrupulous mastering process. If there's a stairway to heaven, this is the soundtrack.

In its three-decade-plus history, Mobile Fidelity has never been prouder to have the honor of handling efforts as important as Davis' key recordings. It's why the label's engineers took every available measure to transport listeners to the March and April 1959 sessions that parlayed modal jazz into mainstream language. The blueprint for melodic improvisation and vamping, Kind of Blue simplifies tonal organization and chordal progression into an eminently beautiful, introspective tapestry stitched with swinging poetry, mellifluous soloing, compositional lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and group interplay of the highest caliber.

While no one has ever completely identified the magic behind the record's allure--the otherworldly nature is part of its inherent charm--much of the success lies with the band members. Davis intentionally handpicked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill.

An audiophile favorite from the day it was issued, Kind of Blue takes on nirvanic sonic proportions via Mobile Fidelity's reissue. The expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth afforded by this new edition places music lovers right in the studio with the sextet. Close your eyes and, no matter how many times you may have heard it before, your experience will parallel that of the players that recorded these gems. Everyone shares in the excitement of not knowing what will happen and, as the music begins to lie out in front of you, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land. Quintessential." - Mobile Fidelity

“The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection finds Miles Davis on a search for self, a search for a sound, a search for an aesthetic, a search for like minds.

The bulk of Miles Davis’ canonical output is on Columbia Records, which he left in 1986 for Warner Brothers in his final years. His pre-Columbia work from 1951–56 was, for the most part, on Prestige Records, a small, fledgling indie label in Hell’s Kitchen launched by Bob Weinstock in 1949. This set is not a comprehensive examination of his stay at Prestige—that is available on the 8-CD Miles Davis Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings, 1951–1956—nor is there any new material here, but the recordings are in the exact format of their release, the forgotten 10-inch vinyl record, something new at the time that could accommodate more minutes than 78 rpm discs, which were the common format for popular recordings. “I was excited about the freedom this new technology would give me,” Miles wrote in his autobiography. “I had gotten tired of that three-minute lockstep that the 78s had put musicians in.”

If you’re not familiar with the 10-inch format, you’ll have to stay on your toes, as sides rarely go beyond 12 or 13 minutes (and sometimes run for as little as 8 minutes.) The set is in chronological order, more or less, to show how his work progressed, and features the original cover art, complete with typographical errors. (A 7–by–10 replica of one of Miles Davis’ paintings is also included.)

The music, too, will keep you on your toes, and enthralled. In many ways, this is one of his most rollicking periods. It’s post-Bird, post-birth-of-cool (released by Capitol Records), yet pre-great quintet with John Coltrane, which coalesced at Prestige in 1955 (not included in this set) and progressed into super-stardom at Columbia. Miles is still very much trying to find himself, musically and personally. A few of the musicians he organized for what several years later was called Birth of The Cool—white musicians, it should be said— took it to the West Coast and ran with it. Meanwhile, he was battling heroin addiction. “Heroin,” he wrote in his autobiography, “was my girlfriend.”

The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection is a document then of a search, an exhilarating one: a search for self, a search for a sound, a search for an aesthetic, a search for like minds.” – Pitchfork

Long-touted as one of electronic music’s must-see acts, Moderat closes out 2016 with a live release to commemorate their career peak. The sleeve art for Live, recorded in a sold-out hometown show in Berlin in June of this year, features a layered representation of the figures on the covers of previous albums I, II, and III, a clear flagging of the synthesis achieved on III.

Moderat "Live" LP comes in a manually assembled cardboard box featuring a hand-pulled screen print adaption of the last Moderat Live CD cover. It includes the photobook "in my eyes" by Birgit Kaulfuss. – PopMatters and Monkeytown Records

“Live may not be the full experience, but it is a full experience, spanning the entirety of Moderat’s still-young catalogue, with particular emphasis on III.

The results range from spellbinding to propulsive, and most places in between. Moderat give their all to the ecstatic Berlin crowd, whose cheering forms the interstitial matter in between the 14 tracks of this fluid set list. “Eating Hooks” is expanded into a nearly ten-minute-long trance: after the album version concludes, the trio then segues into the Siriusmo remix of the song, extending the impact of Ring’s climactic vocal delivery (“Under my skin / Lies the world feeding / The cure of myself”). The crowd goes appropriately nuts for a pitch-perfect rendition of “Bad Kingdom” that has Szary and Bronsert injecting spastic rhythmic interruptions into the beat. Best of all is the elongated closer “No. 22”, whose tantric main riff caps off the performance masterfully. It’s impossible not to imagine the waves of bodies dancing along to the music. If Live is the sound of Moderat in 2016, then it’s safe to say that 2016 was Moderat’s year.” – Pop Matters

Re-Pressed at Quality Record Pressings on 200g Vinyl! Cut from the Original 3-Track Master Tapes!

Mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech Mastering.

One of Nat "King" Cole's crowning achievements and a fittingly lavish celebration of a cultural and musical icon, The Nat "King" Cole Story offers a glorious overview of the career of one of the greatest and most beloved performers in popular music history. 38 tracks, many re-recorded in stereo for this anthology, offer a selection spanning his popular career.

His beginnings leading the popular jazz-oriented Nat "King" Cole Trio are represented with selections including "Route 66" and "I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)." Hits including "Nature Boy," "Mona Lisa," "Unforgettable," "Orange Colored Sky," "Night Lights" and "Looking Back" are here to represent his unparalleled string of memorable hits as a popular vocalist. "Calypso Blues" and "Ay Cosita Linda" help illustrate the range his projects could cover. More contemporary to this anthology, selections including "Wild Is Love" are augmented here with two huge hits as a special bonus, "Ramblin' Rose" and "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" to further expand the scope.

A talent and voice for all times with a body of work that could and did help define their eras, Nat "King" Cole's career offers some of the finest, most enduring and treasured recordings ever made. Nat "King" Cole could never be fully served by any one set. But this wonderful cornucopia stands as a fantastic celebration for the enthusiast and a good starting point for someone just beginning to explore The Nat "King" Cole Story.

Using the original first generation 2-track and 3-track session tapes from Capitol's vaults and all-analogue systems including custom headstacks, 3-track preview heads, console and monitoring chain installed at AcousTech specially for these releases, mastering engineers Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman realize the stunning beauty of these recordings in this 45-RPM 200 gram five album set.

Originally presented as a deluxe box set of 3 LPs in a canvas-bound embossed box with essays and pictures included in a album-sized booklet, The Nat "King" Cole Story was a prestigious release Capitol took obvious pride in. Complete with 5 LPs, canvas-bound embossed box and booklet with essays and pictures, Analogue Productions proudly recreates the experience for a new generation to cherish with this deluxe release. This truly is a no-expenses-spared project, resulting in the ultimate version of this title and a historic reissue.

There are 38 songs in this collection. Of those, three are the same recordings included on other Analogue Productions Nat "King" Cole reissues. "Stardust" (track 28) is the same version included on Love Is The Thing. "St. Louis Blues" (track 30) is the same version included on the album of that title. And "Paradise" (track 33) is the same version included on The Very Thought Of You. Three more songs - "Sweet Lorraine," "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" - are songs that appear on After Midnight, however these versions are stereo re-recordings of the original arrangements from the 1940s.

"...mastered from the original three-track work tapes is a sonic spectacular that outdoes the original by a wide margin - as does its packaging... A major reissue." - Stereophile Records To Die For - Michael Fremer, Stereophile, February 2010

"The results on this (five) 45rpm 180g [now 200g] LP set are simply astonishing, particularly if you’ve heard the originals. The transparency, dynamics and three-dimensionality create the intense sensation of being in the studio with the musicians and especially with Cole who appears as a visceral, floating apparition between the speakers. The size and three-dimensionality of the vocal image produces the sensation of the listener being a “fly on the microphone mike stand” listening to Cole perform, surrounded by the musicians." - Michael Fremer, www.musicangle.com, Music 10, Sound 11

Collection of all albums released by Nina Simone during her Philips tenure from 1964-1967

Featuring Nina Simone in Concert (1964), Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), I Put a Spell on You (1965), Pastel Blues (1966), Let It All Out (1966), Wild is The Wind (1966) and High Priestess of Soul (1967).

“Nina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic. Simone was a singer, pianist, and songwriter who bent genres to her will rather than allowing herself to be confined by their boundaries; her work swung back and forth between jazz, blues, soul, classical, R&B, pop, gospel, and world music, with passion, emotional honesty, and a strong grasp of technique as the constants of her musical career.” – AllMusic

In 1964, Nina Simone embarked on new stage of her career. Her rejection by the Philadelphia-based Curtis Institute Of Music; time spent as a pianist in an Atlantic City nightclub; her jazz, gospel, pop and classical influences – all these had fused to make her one of the most complex, fascinating and talented artists of the decade. Simone released her debut album in 1958, but when she signed to Philips, in 1964, her creative output was about to dovetail with the Civil Rights movement – notably coinciding with the Civil Rights Act Of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, colour, gender, religious affiliation or nationality.

It’s fitting, then, that the first album she released on Philips, 1964’s In Concert, captured some of Simone’s most committed Civil Rights-era material, including her explosive rendition of ‘Mississippi Goddam’. But this three-year period also saw her satisfy her relentlessly questing muse, with collections that focused on Broadway showtunes (Broadway-Blues-Ballads, 1964), pop material (I Put A Spell On You, 1965) and more, showing the full range of Simone’s talents.

A celebration of Simone’s remarkable talents, this box set set contains many of the songs that Simone’s legacy is built upon – not only well-known cuts such as ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and ‘Feeling Good’, but also the likes of ‘Wild Is The Wind’, a song that David Bowie would memorably cover, and Simone’s version of ‘Strange Fruit’.

In Concert (1964):

Recorded across three concerts performed at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall in March and April 1964, In Concert saw Simone step out as a fearless protest singer at the height of the US Civil Rights movement. She gives fans a chance to settle comfortably with a rendition of one of her most famous songs, the Porgy And Bess centrepiece ‘I Loves You, Porgy’, but Simone quickly establishes her protest credentials with The Threepenny Opera’s ‘Pirate Jenny’ and a take on ‘Old Jim Crow’, before closing with a thunderous rendition of ‘Mississippi Goddam’.

Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964):

As In Concert selections from Porgy And Bess and The Threepenny Opera revealed, Simone had long looked to the Broadway songbook for inspiration. On Broadway-Blues-Ballads she turns her hand to classics such as Rogers & Hammerstein’s ‘Something Wonderful’ (from The King And I), while also recording the Cole Porter standard ‘The Laziest Gal In Town’. Yet Simone was also laying down her own standards, such as ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, which almost immediately entered the Great American Songbook and remains one of Simone’s best-loved songs.

I Put A Spell On You (1965):

In Simone’s hands, ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ was as much a demand as it was a plea, and on I Put A Spell On You she continued to record songs with a deep personal resonance. Her version of the title track remains as mesmerising as its name suggests, while covers of Charles Aznavour’s ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ and Jacques Brel’s ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ are equally strong declarations. Meanwhile, Simone once again turned to musical theatre for ‘Feeling Good’ (lifted from the 1964 stage show The Roar Of The Greasepaint – The Smell Of The Crowd), instantly owning the song with her definitive version. Artists as varied as Billy Paul, Muse and Michael Bublé have since covered it, but none with as much dedication – and spine-tingling effect – as Simone.

Pastel Blues (1965):

Simone’s fifth album for Philips has the distinction of containing one of President Obama’s favourite songs: Simone’s 10-minute version of ‘Sinnerman’. The song is also one of two from Pastel Blues to have been sampled by Kanye West (the other being Simone’s haunting rendition of the Billie Holiday classic, ‘Strange Fruit’). Elsewhere, opener ‘By My Husband’ had a different kind of afterlife once Jeff Buckley recorded it for consideration for his 1993 EP Live At Sin-é (his version finally surfaced on the expanded 2003 edition of the release). Pastel Blue was one of Simone’s best-performing records, entering the Top 10 on Billboard’s R&B charts.

Let It All Out (1966):

A mix of studio and live recordings, Let It All Out sees Simone wholly mastering the art of performing in both situations, with a mix of songs that nod to her past (a version of ‘Little Girl Blue’ featured on her debut album of the same name) and her then recent Civil Rights activity (‘The Ballad Of Hollis Brown’ was released by Bob Dylan in 1964). The album’s penultimate track, the a cappella ‘Images’, was taken from the Carnegie Hall shows that made up 1964’s In Concert album.

Wild Is The Wind (1966):

Though compiled from recordings initially earmarked for previous Philips outings, Wild Is The Wind remains a cohesive artistic statement whose influence runs deep. Bowie was the obvious devotee, covering the song’s title track 10 years later on his groundbreaking Station To Station album, but Jeff Buckley once again showed his love for Simone when he included a version of ‘Lilac Wine’ on his 1994 album Grace. ‘Four Women’, meanwhile, saw Simone once again in Civil Rights mode, with a song that took an unflinching look at the history of black women in America – so unflinching, in fact, that the New York-based jazz radio station, WLIB, banned it.

The High Priestess Of Soul (1967):

Once more presenting Simone’s vast stylistic range, The High Priestess Of Soul also introduced Simone’s enduring epithet to the wider world. From rock’n’roll (Chuck Berry’s ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’) to spirituals (‘Come Ye’, ‘Take Me To The Water’), jazz, pop and soul, the album saw Simone end her Philips tenure as confidently – and uncompromisingly – as she began it.

“The Philips Years is a humble title for a collection that contains some of the most important, moving documents of American history. Nina Simone’s Philips records remain her most essential.

This boxed set contains some of the best pure music ever recorded. It doesn’t really matter what your genre loyalties are. At its essence, music is about chords, melodies, and harmonies, and an artist whose humanity is so fully on display that you, as a listener can’t help but to vibrate sympathetically. When you hear “Mississippi Goddamn,” sung in 1964 in New York City, you are hearing a song that is so honest and fearless that it is still impossible to deny. And 2016 is a lot like 1964. Racially motivated murders still take place under the cover of night. Black people are still killed in churches to advance the cause of white supremacy. A nation still threatens to devour itself. At its most glorious, the work collected here is an affirmation of the level of humanity needed to keep the soul in tact and fight for one’s freedom.” – Pitchfork

Originally released on two EPs, Love Is Hell is a staggeringly personal report on romantic desolation, personal frustration, and incurable loneliness whose themes play out via heartbreakingly intimate vocals, stark acoustic guitars, unembellished electric guitars, chamber-pop strings, and spare pianos. The excising of pain has rarely sounded more bittersweet—or spiritual. Due to Ryan Adams’ barren and tormented state, his record label initially refused to release the album out of concern it was too dark.

Renowned for his introspective takes splintered relationships, Adams has never sounded more severe, damaged, or frayed. Listening is akin to peering into the tiny soul of a human being reconciling what love is and what it requires, and whether or not it can be had—all the while conversing with the people that drift in and out of his life. Recognized by critics, peers, and fans for sketching impeccably detailed songs and lifelike protagonists, the singer/multi-instrumentalist doubles as a film auteur throughout Love Is Hell. Such is the value he places on atmosphere, scenery, and insightful specifics.

Rain, snow, and cold color the songs’ environment, the gloom, austerity, and dampness blending with the music’s slate-grey vibes. Decaying, single-room-occupancy hotel rooms, unforgiving city streets, and long nights afflict characters that teeter on falling apart and seek solace by holding on to fading optimism—no more so than on the staggering cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Removing boundaries between himself and the listener, Adams pours out naked fears and thoughts. Expertly placed, minimalist instrumentation accentuates his dramatic swells, emotional extremes, and shifts in scenery.

Arrangements are nothing less than bracing. When employed, electric guitars resonate with tones that suggest showers and sleet, and on the title track—the record’s most aggressive song—inform an anthemic irony. Tempos slowly drift, Adams’ poignant voice remains unhurried, and looming metaphors threaten to swallow the hope on which the singer rests his head during his uncertain times. Throughout, via his phrasing and timbre, Adams makes you feel and inspires reaction. Love Is Hell is the antithesis of background music, its somber qualities and reflective intricacies akin to burrowing into the pages of classic literature.

Phenomenally rare on vinyl (originally Released as Two EPs in Late 2003) —copies, when available, sell for upwards of $150 on the aftermarket—Love Is Hell has never sounded better or looked more beautiful.

On May 5th, 2013 The National collaborated with Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson on A Lot of Sorrow, a durational performance presented as part of MoMA PS1’s Sunday Sessions. Kjartansson, who often uses repetitive performance to explore collective experience and emotion, invited The National to play their three-minute, twenty-five second song 'Sorrow' live on stage, repeatedly and continuously, for six hours.

This incredible feat of endurance has become legendary, and the audio recording of the performance will be released as a limited edition 1,500 run vinyl boxed set by 4AD in 2015.

Front of box shows release artists and title with brief show data, the song's lyrics, and tracklist with the beginning time of each performance throughout the day plus the end time. Back shows credits and thanks.

Early albums The National and Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers preceded their signing to Beggars Banquet in 2004. Alligator (2005), including 'Mr. November' and 'Daughters Of The Soho Riots', raised their profile as the band grew into a compelling and incendiary live proposition. Boxer (2007), featuring songs like 'Fake Empire', 'Mistaken For Strangers' and 'Start A War', sold over three times as many copies as its predecessor and saw them gracing the likes of the Letterman show and touring with REM. Barack Obama later used 'Fake Empire' in his election campaign, on the soundtrack to the promotional video Signs Of Hope And Change.

Since going the distance with Boxer, which along with Alligator has made countless “album of the decade” lists, The National have been, in the main, very busy. Aaron and Bryce produced Dark Was The Night. “That was a real undertaking,” says Aaron. The 31-track album to benefit the Red Hot Organization featured contributions from Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer, and many others. It has so far raised close to $1,000,000. This allowed Red Hot to make donations to many AIDS charities, including an emergency grant of $150,000 to Partners In Health in Haiti, right after the earthquake. The Dessners also produced a sold-out concert for Dark Was The Night at Radio City Music Hall, at which The National performed as well as acts like David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, Feist and Bon Iver.

Trouble Will Find Me is The National's sixth album, and has been released to huge critical and commercial success, cemented by the band's celebrated live show. – 4AD

“Finally available again after an all-too-brief release by BoxStar Records in 2012, the Three Blind Mice 45-RPM Box is the highly desirable collection of three Tee Fujii's most popular LPs (Misty, Midnight Sugar, and Blow Up) in one awesome package. You know the story: one pressing comes out and then *poof* they're gone. Never to be heard from again. Original preorders were never filled and when word got out how amazing these sides sounded, prices shot up online on eBay, et al. Due to our close affiliation with Three Blind Mice, dating back to the 1990's, we have worked dilligently to not only bring these audiophile classics back, but to do so in a super-deluxe way.

We've pressed the LPs from the original stampers, preserving the original sonic magnificance while presenting the three LP sets in top-quality packaging. The jackets follow the original Cisco/TBM 45's of 2003 but have been cleaned up, clarified and color-corrected to original glory. The labels now match the accent color of the jackets. We have included a 4 page insert with archival photographs and a new essay by esteemed radio personality (and life-long audio enthusiasist) Tom Schnabel ("Rhythm Planet, KCRW 89.9, Los Angeles). Topping it all, literally, is a new lift-top box with black lining and special spot UV coating.

If you missed out on the opportunity to own this seminal set when first available, you now can treat your ears to the finest in Japanese jazz in a super-deluxe set that is sure to please. Don't miss out this time!” – Impex Records

The first part of the Three Blind Mice "Great Three" is bassist/cellist Isao Suzuki's inventive, hard-swinging debut Blow Up. This adventurous set finds Suzuki and his band mates (drummer George Otsuka, pianist Kunihiko Sugano, and bassist Takashi Mizuhashi) working through three originals and three classic standards ("Everything Happens To Me", "Like It Is", and "I Can't Get Started"), merging classic hard bop principles with unusual touches (scratching cello and found percussion sweeps on "Aqua Marine"), all captured with the kind of supreme fidelity Three Blind Mice would later be heralded for.

The middle member of the Three Blind Mice "Great Three" is the debut headline performance by leg-endary Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Midnight Sugar. This sweet and low session, recorded mere five months before his masterpiece Misty, creates a bewitching mood of late night rambling and soulful yearning. No one in Tee Fujii's circle of fine players better exemplifed the style and substance of the Three Blind Mice sound and it is evident here in Yamamoto's first try. Stunning dynamics, wide soundstaging, and idiosyncratic interpretations make Midnight Sugar an enjoyable introduction into the deep world of Japanese jazz. Yamamoto and drummer Tetsujiro Obara and bassist Isoo Fukui make musical poetry of three classic standards ("I'm a Fool to Want You", "The Nearness of You", and "It Could Happen to You"), while introducing Yamamoto's own compositional genius with "Sweet Georgia Blues" and the title track, all captured with the kind of supreme fidelity Three Blind Mice would later be heralded for.

The third part of the Three Blind Mice "Great Three" Misty is perhaps the most renowned, the most accomplished. The best-selling title in Tee Fujii's legendary canon, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's trio starts out slow and quiet and picks up speed, nuance, and dynamic propulsion throughout the seven varied compositions here. Yamamoto shows his "heavy right hand" throughout, captured with fine detail and explosive level by engineer Yoshihiko Kannari, lending a verisimilitude that has rarely--if ever--been equaled. This Swinging affair finds Yamamoto and his band mates (drummer Tetsujiro Obara and bassist Isoo Fukui) meld into one cohesive whole, playing for and against one another in a swirling cloud of color and sound.

“Three Blind Mice is a Japanese jazz record label founded in June 1970 as a showcase for Japan's emerging jazz performers. It has produced more than 130 albums have been released since. So far they have won the Jazz Disc Award five times in Japan. Produced by Takeshi Fujii and often recorded by the Yoshihiko Kannari, TBM created jazz records by Japanese players since the 1970s and became known for its audiophile sound quality. TBM's records captured a very important, vibrant era in the development of Japanese jazz. Stars like Isao Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, George Kawaguchi, Terumasa Hino and Mari Nakamoto recorded their very first albums with the label. Artists also include Shuko Mizuno's "Jazz Orchestra '73", Toshiyuko Miyama and Masaru Imada.” – Wiki

About Impex Records:“Impex Records is the exciting audiophile label from the team that brought you Cisco Music. With more than 20 years experience and 150 titles released, Cisco Music developed many of the techniques used by other labels to make higher quality 180-gram LPs, SACDs and Gold and aluminum CDs. We brought definitive editions Jennifer Warnes' The Well, The Hunter and Famous Blue Raincoat in multiple formats, including a 45 rpm box set that Absolute Sound magazine declared "defines the state-of-the--art in vinyl playback." Other classic reissues we nurtured to fantastic rebirths include the jazz-rock perfection of Steely Dan's Aja, Joan Baez' Farewell Angelina, NathanMilstein's poetic interpretation of Dvorak's Violin Concerto and four exquisite 45-rpm Three Blind Mice LPs. Even in our humbler origins we were trusted with the distribution and production of The Super Analogue Disc, the original audiophile 180-gram LPs. King Records recognized, from the very beginning, that Cisco Music brought unflinching passion to the music and unflailing dedication to the process of bringing that music to the most discerning listeners in the world.” – Impex Records

When Echoes of Indiana Avenue came out in 2012, it had been nearly 45 years since a full album of previously unheard Wes Montgomery music had been released. Fortunately, jazz lovers don’t have to wait another half-century for more discoveries from the legendary guitarist’s past. Once again, these treasures arrive to the record-buying public via the musical archaeologists at Los Angeles-based Resonance Records.

In the Beginning features recordings of Wes Montgomery spanning the years 1949 to 1958, the formative years when the six-string virtuoso was honing his craft in Southern Indiana. Since Wes Montgomery’s passing in 1968, only two other albums of predominantly unreleased material have been released: Willow Weep for Me (Verve, 1968) and Echoes of Indiana Avenue (Resonance, 2012). Resonance Records is pleased to introduce the third such archival offering with In the Beginning.

The 26-track collection will be released on May 12, 2015 as two-CD and three-LP sets. The CD version includes a 55-page booklet of liner notes by 2015 GRAMMY® Award-winning journalist and noted jazz historian and biographer Ashley Kahn, legendary producer Quincy Jones, guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who and others, alongside rare never-before-published photos from the Montgomery Estate and friends in Montgomery’s native Indianapolis.

In the Beginning features extensive liner notes and meticulously designed artwork that have become the label’s trademarks. The booklet begins with an introduction by producer Feldman and an essay by Kahn. The package also features a reminiscence by Quincy Jones; a biography of the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet (the name at that time of the brothers’ band with the unrelated Alfonso “Pookie” Johnson and drummer Sonny Johnson) by author and journalist Bill Milkowksi; an interview with Indianapolis- based jazz photojournalist, author and historian Duncan Schiedt, conducted shortly before his death in March 2014; a contribution by Dr. Willis F. Kirk, a drummer and former bandmate of the Montgomery brothers; an interview with Indianapolis native and legendary jazz bassist Dr. Larry Ridley (who was discovered to be the previously unidentified bassist on two tracks from the 2012 release of Echoes of Indiana Avenue, “Diablo’s Dance” and “Nica’s Dream”); and lastly a contribution by fellow guitar icon and lead guitarist and songwriter for the legendary rock group the Who, Pete Townshend. Feldman adds, “I wanted someone who was “outside” the typical jazz guitar circle who admired Wes’s music. I suspected he was a fan of jazz guitar, based on the recording “To Barney Kessell” from his album Scoop, so I sent him copies of Echoes in 2012. Having him as a contributor on this project was an honor and privilege.”

In his essay, Townshend writes, “What comes across [in these recordings] is a sense of fun and discovery. There is mischief and experiment. This was a period when jazz was breaking ground on all fronts, and I hadn't realized how sophisticated a guitarist Wes was even in these early days . . . He stopped playing so flashily in the next decade, and concentrated more on atmosphere and expression his playing became loving, gentle and poetic. He became a romantic. But on these sessions he’s a young blade, rocking out, speeding sometimes, challenged by his brother Buddy on piano who could elaborate either like falling drops of water on a tin roof, or like a machine gun.”

The In the Beginning booklet features passages from Monk Montgomery’s 1980 NEA-sponsored interview with Maggie Hawthorne, along with excerpts from a never-before-released, unpublished autobiography written by Buddy Montgomery. There are recollections by Buddy, including an interview with his sister Ervena. Buddy’s estate provided a wealth of rare photographs, such as a remarkable shot of Wes Montgomery standing behind a pinball machine taken by Philip Kahl at the Turf Club.

The three-LP version is presented on 180-gram vinyl mastered by engineering legend Bernie Grundman, and pressed on 12” LPs at 33 1/3 rpm by Record Technology Incorporated (R.T.I.) in a hand-numbered slipcase with an eight-panel booklet, a digital download card and collector postcards of unpublished photos. Digitally, a “Mastered for iTunes” configuration will also be available, along with a complete digital booklet with all contents contained in the physical editions. If pre-ordered on iTunes, customers will receive four tracks instantly: “Four” (recorded at the Turf Club), “A Night in Tunisia” (recorded at the Missile Lounge), “Far Wes” (recorded for Epic Records in 1955), and “Smooth Evening” (recorded in 1949 for Spire Records).

The set is attractively designed by Burton Yount, who has collaborated with Resonance on previous releases including Wes Montgomery’s Echoes of Indiana Ave and Bill Evans’ Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate. This project is made possible with the help of Robert Montgomery, Wes’s youngest son and the head of the Wes Montgomery Estate, who signed on as associate producer.

In short, as Feldman says, “This is another chapter of previously undiscovered Wes, one which aficionados couldn’t have even hoped existed a few short years ago. Resonance is proud to present another chapter in the legacy of Wes Montgomery.” Finally, if it couldn't get any better for Wes Montgomery fans, Resonance has signed on with the Wes Montgomery Estate to release even more previously unissued music sometime in 2016-2017. Resonance Records is making history preserving and documenting the legacy of Wes Montgomery, even 47 years after the giant’s passing. – Press Release

“In the Beginning, released three years after Echoes, draws from a similar well of unreleased recordings, offering a heavy dose of live material along with five sides produced by Quincy Jones at Columbia Studios in 1955, plus three tracks a session at Spire Records in Fresno, California in 1949. Sequenced in rough reverse chronological order -- two live performances from November 1958 open the second disc, but the first is entirely devoted to recordings made at the Turf Club in Indianapolis in 1956, when Wes was supported by his brother Buddy on piano, Monk Montgomery on bass, Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson on tenor sax, and drummer Sonny Johnson -- the end result has Montgomery turning into a slightly straighter player as the collection rolls on, but that by no means means he sounds stiff. The 1949 cuts that wrap this up veer closer to big band than to bop, and there's a slight touch of politeness to the Jones-produced cuts. That said, it's possible to hear traces of Montgomery's fluidity here, but it's the live cuts from 1956 and 1958 that truly command attention. Here, there's a palpable hunger and playfulness to the performances that give the hard bop a kinetic kick, which means this isn't merely a worthy release from a historic standpoint, it's flat-out fun to boot.” – Allmusic